MC5
RELEASE FIRST ALBUM IN 53 YEARS TODAY
ONE DAY BEFORE INDUCTION INTO THE ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME
On October 18, 2024, earMUSIC released the first new album by MC5 in 53 years (after High Time from 1971) titled Heavy Lifting. The posthumous album is now available, one day before the band's induction into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, which will be conducted by none other than Tom Morello of Rage Against the Machine, a longtime fan. Morello told the Associated Press: “The idea, as Wayne described to me, was to make one last great MC5 record that would distil the spirit that the band had decades before but was also a product of where those influences lead. I put everything I had into it. I’m like, ‘Let’s make one more really, really great MC5 record.’”
Under the leadership of founding member Wayne Kramer and produced by the icon Bob Ezrin (Lou Reed, Alice Cooper, Kiss), the new album features original MC5 drummer Dennis 'Machine Gun' Thompson on two tracks, as well as guests like Slash, Tom Morello, William DuVall (Alice in Chains), Vernon Reid (Living Colour), Don Was, and Tim McIlrath (Rise Against). Additionally, members of Kramer's MC5 touring band contribute, including Vicki Randle (Aretha Franklin), Stevie Salas (Parliament Funkadelic, Rod Stewart), Abe Laboriel Jr. (Paul McCartney), Winston Watson Jr. (Bob Dylan), Joe Berry (M83), and Oakland-based singer Brad Brooks.
Wayne Kramer was the last active member of MC5 and wrote 12 of the 13 songs on the album in collaboration with Tom Morello, Tim McIlrath, Bob Ezrin, Jill Sobule, and Brad Brooks. Kramer passed away unexpectedly in February, followed by the death of drummer Dennis 'Machine Gun' Thompson in May. This is Thompson's last studio recording, on which he plays the tracks “Can’t Be Found” and “Blind Eye.”
CREEM magazine co-founder Jaan Uhelszki conducted the last interview with Kramer and reflected on the pioneers of punk and protest rock who inspired bands like The Clash, Ramones, Rage Against The Machine, The White Stripes, Slash, and countless others. In this conversation, Kramer explained the ethos behind the continuation of MC5:
“I think the MC5 lives on because of the purity of the spirit,” Kramer told Uhelszki two weeks before he passed away in February 2024. “The MC5 was about…principles of self-determination, of freedom of expression, of freedom of religion, of equality, of justice – those are principles we felt were worth fighting for. Sure, we wanted to be a popular rock band, but we did things by principles. I think that’s something that transcends a rock and roll band. We were charged with constantly disrupting everything we came into contact with. This was part of the tactics of the day, of carrying the message.”
Bob Ezrin said about Heavy Lifting: “What I really heard in the songs was a spirit of rebellion, challenging social norms, and staring down American values. I told Wayne, ‘It sounds like an MC5 record to me!’”
Uhelszki has also just released a new book, along with former Guitar World editor Brad Tolinski, based on the works of the late Ben Edmonds: MC5: An Oral Biography of Rock’s Most Revolutionary Band. It includes original interviews with the band and their inner circle – John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, Iggy and the Stooges, Bill Graham, Jefferson Airplane – and tells the story of MC5's music and beyond.
In addition to the studio album with 13 tracks, a 2CD / 2LP version will be released, featuring a bonus disc with previously unreleased live recordings from the MC50 tour in 2018, celebrating the 50th anniversary of MC5's legendary debut album, Kick Out the Jams, and including classic punk anthems like “Kick Out the Jams” and “Ramblin’ Rose.”
Alongside Kramer, the MC50 recordings feature Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil, Fugazi drummer Brendan Canty, Faith No More bassist Billy Gould, and frontman Marcus Durant (Zen Guerrilla) with a special guest appearance by Mark Arm (Mudhoney).
